This article provides you with steps to remove browser redirects caused by Malware.
Why do browser redirect viruses exist?
Like all malware, the answer is cold hard cash. The people who propagate such unwanted software do so in order to generate revenue via Google search or another third-party search engine. Every time you search via Google adverts appear. Thus every search generates money for someone.
How to get rid of a browser redirect
As with removing unwanted browser toolbars, there are various things you can do, and we recommend trying them all. Follow them in the order we've set: if you do only one thing it should be a virus scan, because it should isolate any further infection. But to properly resolve the irritating symptoms that brought you to this page you'll have to at least change your browser settings and remove the unwanted toolbars and extensions.
Scan and remove malware
We're going to assume that you have up-to-date antivirus. If you don't: get it. Now. Read our Best security software guide and install the tool that takes your fancy.
Once you are confident you have the correct software installed, and you have used it to scan for malware and removed anything you have found, you need to do a second sweep. This is not as simple as installing a second antivirus or security suite. Such programs are not designed to run together and will often wrongly identify other security software as malware. Instead we would use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Free, which is free software dedicated to run as a second virus scan. Install and run Malwarebytes to ensure the infection is removed.
Remove browser add-ons, extensions & toolbars
In Google Chrome click the three vertical dots near the top-right corner, then choose More tools... and then Extensions (you can also type chrome://extensions in the address bar). Click 'REMOVE' below the extension(s) you want to get rid of.
Chrome also has a built-in 'Clean-up tool' which you'll find by clicking those three vertical dots and choosing Settings. Scroll down to where it says Advanced and click on it. Now scroll to the bottom and click 'Clean up computer' and click 'FIND' next to Find and remove harmful software.
In Firefox click the three horizontal bars near the top-right and choose Add-ons, or press Ctrl-Shift-A. Now click on Extensions in the left-hand menu and click Remove next to those you want to delete.
In Microsoft Edge, click the three horizontal dots (top-right) and choose Extensions from the menu. Hover over the one you want to delete, click the cog icon then click the Uninstall button.
Change default browser and remove unwanted search engines
Chrome
Click the three vertical dots (as in the previous section) and scroll down to Search Engine. Simply use the drop-down menu to choose a search engine.
Firefox
Open the menu (the three horizontal lines) and choose Options. Click Search from the left-hand menu and use the drop-down menu below Default Search Engine to pick the one you want.
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft doesn't want you using anything other than its own search engine, Bing, so it makes it difficult to change it.
First, go to the website of the search engine you want and then click the three horizontal dots, choose Settings, then View Advanced Settings. Scroll down to Privacy and Services and click Change the search engine. You should see the name of the search engine you visited, so long as it supports the 'OpenSearch' standard.
